I am a middle aged man. Which means I'm -- at best -- halfway between having been born and going to die. Which is another way of saying that in 43 years I'll be dead -- it's just a matter of how long I will have been dead for.

As these epiphanies sink in, I start to think about 2050 and how best to reduce those number of years I will have been dead for.

So the doctor says cholesterol, while not high, is high enough to watch. Shoot. And I had just settled into a morning routine of an hard-boiled egg. So what's for breakfast?

Yes, granola.

But I'm picky. The store-bought granola has a fat content I don't control and stuff other than oatmeal. Non-mushy oatmeal, that's what I want. And I'm picky enough to just do it myself. In my defense, it's actually pretty easy to do.

Recipe (and no more mortality references) below the fold. Continue reading »

Mrs. Phelps, my 10th grade English teacher, said on more than one occasion, "Never write anything down that you wouldn't want to see published on the front page of the New York Times." She was old in 1978. What turn of events in her life lead her to this prescient rule I'll never know. But what I do know is it makes a lot of sense today. Continue reading »

This was our first time traveling in developing countries. And let me tell you, that'll set you thinking. A journey to a poor country will change you. It'll make you think of social justice, the fairness of life, and the definition of poverty -- and not just a little. I spend days turning it over in my head. Continue reading »

It's always interesting to note who notices that I've shaved. I've not been shaving since Christmas (it's not really enough to call a beard), and this weekend I shaved. Those who know me the least are always the ones who call it right off the bat, "You've shaved!" The folks who've known me for a long time just sense that something has changed -- haircut, new glasses, new medication.
I dislike shaving, so it'll go back to obligitory modern-white-guy goatee soon enough.

I'm a do-it-youselfer. No matter what the task is, after careful thinking and consideration, I usually end up doing it myself. Running a new 220 volt circuit, building a tiles shower, putting together a web site. Surgery I'd shy away from -- unless it wasn't too deep. Then I could Google, library, & figure it out. I'm opinionated and cheap, er, frugal -- which gives me little alternatives in the doing. Continue reading »